Mr. President,

Iranian Baha’is continue to face injustice in every aspect of their lives.  They are killed, arbitrarily imprisoned, tortured, their houses are raided, their shops burnt, sealed and defaced, their cemeteries are desecrated and their Holy Places destroyed.  They are portrayed in the media as a dangerous cult.  They are prevented from associating with their fellow citizens through prohibition of employment and denial of access to higher education.  Even children are not spared, as infants, they are imprisoned with their mothers and in primary school they are singled out and ridiculed by their teachers.

Despite all this persecution, they are still exerting all efforts in order to contribute their share to the betterment of their community, and of Iran, the birthplace of their Faith.  Indeed, last December, the seven former leaders of the community penned a letter from inside prison to President Rouhani, regarding the draft charter of citizens’ rights.  In it, the y laid down their vision of an Iran in which no one is “subjugated and oppressed by reason of their ethnicity, gender, religious belief, or any other distinction”.

It is heartening for the Bahá’’is to see that more and more of their fellow citizens courageously stand up for their rights.  A few days ago, an open letter was addressed to Ayatollah Larijani, the Head of the Judiciary by 75 prominent activists and  rights defenders, writers and journalists, requesting that Baha’is by treated with justice.

The Iranian government is now receiving strong signals from within Iran.  It is important that the international community, in turn, echoes these calls and reiterates its stance that the human rights situation in Iran won’t be considered improved unless and until the situation of the Baha’is is addressed.